


Truth or Dare?

by enrichables



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-31
Updated: 2020-01-01
Packaged: 2021-02-27 12:01:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,089
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22056700
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/enrichables/pseuds/enrichables
Summary: "Truth or dare?"Arthur puffed out his little five year old chest and smirked at Gwaine's expectant face."Dare!""I dare yooouuu... to kiss Merlin!"
Relationships: Merlin/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)
Comments: 11
Kudos: 272





	1. Chapter 1

"Truth or dare?"

Arthur puffed out his little five year old chest and smirked at Gwaine's expectant face.

"Dare!"

Gwaine turned his eyes to the ceiling, clumsily tapping one stubby finger against his mud stained chin. Everyone in the circle dissolved into giggles when the tapping finger accidentally landed up Gwaines right nostril.

Gwaine scowled, wiped his snotty finger against the carpet. A cunning glint unbefitting of any five year old child gleamed in his eye. Unsurprising then, that he was the precocious young mastermind who first suggested they all play truth or dare.

"I dare yooouuu..." Gwaine began, dragging out the moment while he commanded the group's full attention, "to kiss Merlin!"

A chorus of childish "ooooohhh"s echoed through the room. Pink cheeked, Arthur snuck a sideways glance at Merlin from under his lashes.

Merlin sat cross legged, pale fingers fidgeting with the laces on his ragged off-white trainers. Wide eyed and pink at the ears to match Arthur's blush. He was biting nervously on his lower lip, revealing the gap where he'd lost a baby tooth last week.

"O-okay."

Palms planted flat to the floor Arthur awkwardly bum shuffled across the circle to Merlin, whose fidgeting fingers had now completely removed his shoelaces altogether. Now they lay in a forlorn tangle on Merlin's lap where still he fidgeted, fraying them to smithereens.

The two boys looked anywhere but at each other. Their eyes flitted to the ceiling, the floor, stole a glance at the other then darted away...

"While we're young!" Gwaine called with an exaggerated eye roll like he'd seen that cool guy do on the telly last night.

Arthur puffed out his cheeks and steeled himself. In one motion he swooped forward and smushed his lips against Merlin's.

It was a brief clumsy peck, scarcely two seconds. Nevertheless, the whole group dissolved into embarrassed giggles while Arthur and Merlin wiped chubby hands across their mouths.

Arthur scurried back to his spot in the circle while Gwen apologetically dared Mordred to lick a piece of chalk.

Settled back in his spot, Arthur glanced at Merlin's lips. They'd tasted like lemon sherbets.

He should ask Merlin if he could have one.


	2. Chapter 2

"Truth or dare, seriously?"

Merlin arched an eyebrow at Gwaine, who was concocting an undoubtedly lethal cocktail of every spirit on the counter.

"Sure," Gwaine replied, sloshing what looked like half a pint of absinthe into the mix, "why not?"

Gwaine offered Merlin a cup of the inexplicably lurid pink drink he'd created. Merlin shook his head, waving his mostly full bottle of beer by way of explanation. Thank god he'd already grabbed a drink.

"Doesn't it seem a bit... babyish?"

A dangerous smirk spread over Gwaine's stubbled cheeks.

"Sounds to me like you're scared, Merls."

"What? No I, I'm not-" Merlin sputtered but Gwaine had already swaggered halfway across the room, gathering the party goers into a loose semblance of a circle.

Sod.

Merlin reluctantly settled on the questionably stained sofa, squashed between Gwen and a messy haired blonde he'd been introduced to, but whose name he couldn't recall. He mostly remembered the mindboggling way she'd managed to trip on thin air, spin three circles as she stumbled across the room, to eventually land drink first against Merlin.

And his formerly clean shirt.

He glanced down at the now dry red stain splattered over his chest with a little smile. The girl - Emily? Elsie? - was too damn charming for him to hold a grudge.

Speaking of charming...

"Arthur!" Gwaine cried, raising his monstrosity of a drink in welcome, "You're just in time! You can have the honour of going first; truth or dare?"

Arthur rolled his eyes, effortlessly cracking open a beer with his keys as he leaned against the cold radiator.

"Truth."

"Boring..." Gwaine pouted, "fine then. We'll start off easy. Do you have any tattoos?"

Arthur glared at the Irishman who beamed back unrepentantly.

"You know I do."

"And I feel everyone here deserves to know too. Come on princess, sharing is caring!"

After a fortifying swig from his bottle, Arthur turned his back to the room. One hand pulled up his t-shirt while the other nudged at the waist of his jeans to reveal a single word in black gothic lettering. "Tristan".

Who in the buggering fucking hell was _Tristan_?

"Oooh, who's Tristan?" The unnamed blonde to Merlin's left echoed his thoughts, leaning forward for a closer look and subsequently sloshing her vodka lemonade over herself.

"Some guy I met in Ibiza when I was drunk off my tits. The end. Percy, truth or dare?"

Even the spectacle of Percival's enormous frame sashaying across the room in the giant's best Beyonce impression couldn't shake Merlin from his own thoughts.

Arthur was gay? Since when? Had it been a one off, just a drunken mishap like Arthur claimed? Or an experimenting phase?

"-or dare Merls?"

"Huh?" Merlin suddenly realised that all eyes were trained upon him, Gwaine's eyebrow raised expectantly.

" _Truth or dare?_ " Gwaine drawled, clearly not for the first time. Merlin blamed Arthur's sexuality bombshell entirely for his lacking attention, and also for his next foolish reply

"Oh right, sorry, urh dare."

A truly evil smirk spread across Gwaine's face. Merlin gulped audibly. What the actual fuck had he let himself in for?

"As I'm sure you'll all agree," Gwaine began, rising to his feet with arms spread grandiosely, "I am nothing if not a man of science-"

"You're failing a course in hairdressing." Percival muttered.

"So in light of recent revelations about Arthur's repressed sexuality-"

"I'll fucking repress yo-"

"I feel that some _hard_ evidence is required. Merlin," he span dramatically to face his victim, "I therefore dare you and Arthur to seven sexy scientific minutes in heaven."

Merlin froze mid swig, lips pressed to his bottle and cheeks puffed out with a mouthful of lukewarm Carlsberg. What the hell did Gwaine think he was doing? Just because Arthur had an Ibiza fuelled moment of experimentation, that didn't mean he would suddenly reciprocate Merlin's hideously inappropriate gooey feelings of emotion-

Opposite him, Arthur's cheeks were stained an unattractive puce as he sputtered out a disjointed rebuttal.

"Wait, I... I mean come on Gwaine it's not-, I mean there's really no need to drag Merlin into this and, I just, is not fair to him-"

Merlin narrowed his eyes, watching the flush travel down ever further past the v neck of Arthur's shirt. Dragged? Try eagerly volunteered!

Upending the bottle, Merlin drained the last dregs of tepid amber courage. Merlin clutched one of Arthur's arms and steered him away to the nearest closet, even as Arthur continued his sputtering, chivalrous, and entirely idiotic protest.

The door clicked shut behind them. Crammed together, chest to chest, close enough to share the air between them and with only a slither of light seeping through a crack in the door, Merlin felt his adrenaline fuelled bravado dissipate.

This was Arthur. _Arthur,_ his best friend. Arthur, who wasn't actually gay, even if he had experimented once. Merlin couldn't risk screwing up their friendship.

"So," Arthur murmured, voice hushed but loud as thunder in the confines of the closet, "are you gonna kiss me or what?"

"What?!"

Merlin's head snapped up, colliding sharply with Arthur's nose.

__________________

Two hours later Arthur emerged from A&E, gauze taped over his nose and bloodied bag of frozen peas clutched in one hand.

"Arthur!"

Obscuring the reception desk was what could only be described as a talking gift shop on legs. A teetering mass of toys, flowers, sweets, balloons, magazines, puzzle books, oversized get well cards and... was that a sombrero?

"Arthur, I'm so sorry!" Merlins said, voice muffled by the fur of a yellow teddy bear smooshed against his face. "Honestly I, I can't apologise enough. I saw a Starbucks here somewhere, I can get you one of those fancy coffees you like and-"

"Merlin," Arthur interrupted, prying the yellow bear from where he guessed his friends face would be. That inadvertently sent the entire pile cascading to the floor and prompted a stern frown from the nurse on reception, "what the hell is all this?"

Merlin squinted at the fluorescent hospital lighting, face still splattered with Arthur blood, hair in disarray and peppered with teddy bear fluff. He frowned down at the assorted gifts, waving a hand vaguely in their direction.

"I know it's not really you but it's all they had in the gift shop. But I'll get your shirt dry cleaned too! O-or replace it, if they can't get the blood out. I'm so sorry, I just want to make things even-"

"Okay," Arthur said, "let's make it even then."

Merlins eyes stretched wide, then clenched tightly shut, braced for a blow that never came.

Instead he felt Arthur's lips against his own. The bandage on Arthur's nose tickled softly against Merlin's skin. Arthur was the first to pull away, leaving Merlin dazed and cross eyed.

"There, that's a good start," Arthur smiled, tangling his hand with Merlins. "Now let's get that coffee and we'll call it even, yeah?"

"Y-Yeah that sounds-"

"Uh-uh!" The nurse shouted behind them, "No coffee dates until you've cleaned up this mess!"


	3. Chapter 3

Merlin swiped his hands against the front of his sauce stained "Kiss the Cook" apron. He knew he should have stuck with Delia, patron saint of home cooking. Jamie Oliver was a lying bloody liar who lied.

"Quick and easy my arse," Merlin grumbled, turning his back on the treacherous cookbook.

Tonight was his and Arthur's weekly date night and around him the kitchen was in disarray. Escaped from their tote bag prison, carrots and shallots rolled across the chipped lino floor. Mustard cream sauce splattered the hob, curdling beside the heat of the burners until it emitted a pungent sour odour. Merlin couldn't even bring himself to inspect the charred black lump in the oven that had once been called a chicken.

Date night wasn't usually such a big deal. A takeaway curry, Netflix, and a comfy sofa for smooching was Merlin's tried and true formula. But tonight was different. Tonight was the anniversary of their first date - well, that is if you counted coffee at the hospital Starbucks as a date.

Merlin certainly did at least, and here they were five years later stronger than ever. Half a decade! Merlin had been so determined to do something special. Arthur's favourite home cooked meal, a posh bottle of wine from that snooty wine shop Arthur loved so much, scented candles and bloody classical music. It was supposed to be romantic as fuck, dammit! Now he'd be lucky to avoid landing them _both_ back in hospital with food poisoning.

Hands braced against the counter, Merlin wondered if he should just order a takeaway after all. Arthur did love a lamb biryani... No, Merlin thought, he would not be defeated by bloody dinner. He could do this!

Taking up arms with his whisk, Merlin set to rescuing what sauce was left in the pan when his mobile trilled shrilly. He bit back a curse, digging in his back pocket for the old Nokia which he wedged between his ear and shoulder.

"'Lo?" Merlin answered, whisking cream into the saucepan while awkwardly craning his head to check on the chicken. Definitely a write off, he lamented, maybe they had some chops left in the freezer? Oh sod, should the carrots be in already?

"Truth or dare, Merls?"

"Wha-, Gwaine? Now's not really the best"

" _Truth or dare,_ Merlin?"

Merlin sighed and rolled his eyes to the heavens, or rather the off white stucco ceiling.

"Truth."

"Nope, try again."

The front door juddered open with the scrape of a key then slammed shut. Buggering hell, Arthur wasn't supposed to be home yet!

"Gwaine I really don't-"

"Truth or _dare_ Merlin?"

"Oh for fu-, dare!" Merlin cried, praying the call would end sooner if he just humoured the madman he called a friend. Arthur's suitcase thumped to the hallway floor, his footsteps drawing nearer - this was an unmitigated disaster!

"Turn around and say yes."

"What-?"

Merlin turned, whisk still in hand, to find Arthur down on one knee amidst a scattering of carrots, ring glimmering from it's cushioned box.

"Merlin, will you-"

Merlin lunged forward to kiss the words from Arthurs lips. The whisk and battered old Nokia somersaulted to the floor.

"Hello? Guys? You said yes, right?" Gwaine's tinny voice rang out from the phone, "I'm the master of truth or dare! I dare you to name your firstborn after me!"

**Author's Note:**

> First fic in an embarrassing number of years, forgive my rusty attempts!


End file.
